Method and apparatus for the detection of objects using electromagnetic wave attenuation patterns

ABSTRACT

A method for detecting an object, comprising the steps of defining expected characteristics of scattered electromagnetic radiation to be received at a receiver; attenuating at least a portion of electromagnetic radiation received at the receiver by a presence of an object within a path of electromagnetic information; and detecting the attenuation to indicate a presence of the object. The object may be a low radar profile object, such as a stealth aircraft. The electromagnetic radiation is preferably microwave, but may also be radio frequency or infrared. By using triangulation and other geometric techniques, distance and position of the object may be computed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Radar was developed in World War II to detect enemy aircraft. It hassubsequently been refined to detect a large variety of objects,including ships, helicopters, satellites, and land vehicles. Radarsystems typically work on the principle of bouncing microwave radiationoff an object and analyzing the reflected signal (echo). The reflectedsignal can be used to develop information about the object, e.g., bymeasuring the round trip signal (echo) time the distance to the objectcan be determined, and by determining a Doppler shift of the echo avelocity of the object may be estimated. With sophisticated systemdesign, object shape and size may be analyzed. Finally, a temporalanalysis of sequential echoes may be used to detect a motion vector andcharacteristics of moving parts of the object.

Radar systems thus emit an electromagnetic wave or pulse, and analyze areflection pattern to determine a characteristic of the object,distinguishing the object from clutter and background based on a returntime of the echo. Radar is typically employed to determine an objectprofile, or shape, distance (range) and/or its velocity.

Electromagnetic detection techniques have developed to include radiofrequency and microwave Radar, laser Radar (Lidar), FLIR (forwardlooking infrared), fluorescence techniques (especially to detect jetengine combustion emissions) and visual techniques.

Once Radar saw widespread use, military planners saw the militaryadvantage that would accrue from having craft that are invisible toRadar. After decades of research and development, the United Statesbegan deployment of so called stealth aircraft in the 1980's. The nextgeneration of helicopters, ships and missiles are also designed to be“stealthy”. Any craft can be designed to be stealthy, including landcraft and satellites. The design principles of stealth aircraft areprincipally to (a) reduce radar reflections, especiallyretroreflections, of all kinds, and (b) to particularly hide or reducecharacteristic signatures of aircraft, such as signals produced byengine turbine blades and wing surfaces.

The primary method for making an object stealthy is to reduce its radarcross section. While much of the performance of stealth aircraft isclassified, it has been claimed a stealth fighter has the radar crosssection of a normal plane the size of a bird, i.e., that it reflects nomore microwave energy back to the detection device than a non-stealthplane the size of a bird.

There are several techniques, applied together, that are used to effectstealth. One is to design the craft so that flat surfaces are dividedinto small areas of various inclinations, disposed to avoid reflectingthe signal directly back to the receiver. The craft is designed suchthat exposed surfaces present oblique angles or rounded surfaces thatscatter or diffuse the signal away from the source of the radar beam. Inaddition, surfaces are coated with materials that absorb microwaveradiation, and honeycomb sections are formed which trap microwaves,preventing reflections. See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,808,577, 5,697,394,5,694,763, 5,536,910, 5,420,588, 5,276,477, 5,036,323, 4,606,848,4,173,018, 4,117,485, 4,030,098, 4,019,699, expressly incorporatedherein by reference.

The United States no longer has a monopoly on stealth craft. After theefficacy of stealth was proved during the Persian Gulf War, Germany,Russia, South Africa and other developed countries accelerated theirdevelopment of stealth craft, and now not only have stealth craft fortheir own use, but are poised to sell stealth craft to developingcountries, some of which are hostile to the United States.

Therefore, it is becoming increasing important for any military to beable to detect stealth craft.

The existing methods for detection of stealth aircraft include thermalsignatures, exhaust signatures, acoustic signatures (see, U.S. Pat. No.4,811,308, expressly incorporated herein by reference), radar employingnon-traditional wavelengths (see, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,850,285, and5,657,022, expressly incorporated herein by reference), satelliteimagery, and analysis of radio frequency emissions from the aircraft.However, none of these methods replaces traditional Radar monitoring.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,822 (Honigsbaum, Nov. 23, 1999), expresslyincorporated herein by reference, describes a system for detectingstealthcraft based on silhouette methods, e.g., where the receiveraperture is aligned with an outgoing transmitted beam. Distance to anobject is estimated by triangulation and sequence of beam returns.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention therefore provides a method and apparatus for thedetection of objects, e.g., all craft types, regardless of whether theyare designed to have a low radar profile or not, and thus including bothstealth craft as well as non-stealth craft. In particular, it is soughtto detect airplanes, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM),helicopters, satellites, cruise missiles, pilotless drones, balloons,High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) platforms (which are roboticallypiloted dirigibles or winged craft), ships, boats, submarines, tanks,trucks, armored personnel carriers, and cars.

The present invention operates by detecting, not the echo of anelectromagnetic wave reflecting off an object, but rather an attenuationof an electromagnetic wave pattern due to obstruction of beampropagation by the object. Therefore, design principles of stealth craftwhich seek to absorb microwave radiation will increase contrast, makingthem “visible”.

While beam interruption sensors are well known and used in securitysystems and industrially, the present system includes a number ofdistinctions. The system according to the present invention does notseek to provide a narrow beam that is fully blocked by the object to bedetected. Rather, at the typical region of intersection between the beamand the craft, the beam illuminates a much larger area than the crosssection of the craft. The present invention, in fact, seeks a wide areaof coverage, and therefore provides a region of detection significantlylarger than a “line of sight”. It is noted that, in traditional systems,detection is limited to “line of sight”, possibly with predeterminedreflections of the beam, and off axis sensitivity is extremely limitedby design. Thus, according to the present invention, a large volume ofspace may be monitored by a detector node, similar to traditional Radarinstallations and in contrast to known shadow detectors.

Video detectors are also known. These detectors monitor pixels of animaging sensor for illumination changes, which may be due to shadowingof a background. These systems, however, are limited to certainelectromagnetic bands, for example mid- or near infrared to X-rayranges. As such, these systems are only employed in limited rangeapplications, since beam propagation may be limited by atmosphericconditions or noise, and typically are difficult to accurately detectover long distances through the atmosphere. In contrast, the presentinvention employs a long range detection system, for example having adetection range of at least several miles, and detection over a largevolume, for example at least several cubic miles.

The principal of the Negative Radar can best be explained in terms of ananalogy. Suppose an airplane was coated with a surface that absorbed allvisible light, thus reflecting no light. If, during the night, you aimeda search light at the airplane, you would not see any reflected light,making the plane not visible, thus effectively invisible. However, ifyou observed the same airplane flying the next day against a blue sky,you could see the silhouette of the airplane.

Similarly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus, fordetecting an alteration in a background radiation pattern resulting froman object interfering with transmission thereof.

In order to be effective, the electromagnetic wave path between theregion to be monitored and the receiver must have a set of convergentwave paths. Typically, this is effected by providing an intermediatescattering of the electromagnetic beam. While this intermediatescattering reduces beam power efficiency as compared to a substantialretroreflection, in typical applications thus reduction in sensitivityis compensated by an increase in output power, or the use of an existinghigh power irradiation source.

It is noted that one method for defeating the detection method andapparatus according to present invention is to emit a radiation patternfrom the object corresponding to a presumed or measured backgroundpattern, in order to avoid detection. In order for such a system to alsodefeat detection by normal Radar and radio frequency emission monitoringmethods, a phased array antenna must accurately detect the incidentillumination pattern and a phased array antenna on an opposing craftsurface must retransmit the corresponding pattern, wherein the phasedarray antennas must encompass an area on each face of the craft (e.g.,top, bottom, sides, front and rear) and must be themselves “stealth”designs. Such an anti-detection system is therefore another aspect ofthe present invention. See, U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,952, expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment of the invention, specific artificial sources of radaremissions are deployed and/or employed to specifically define a patternto be interrupted by the craft to be detected. It is noted that typicalstealth designs make presumptions regarding the angle between theemitted Radar wave for detection and the receiver, i.e., that these areclose or identical. Therefore, a particular design principle of stealthcraft is to avoid any direct reflections or retroreflections ofmicrowave energy. These presumptions fail where the angle issubstantially different from zero, for example the limit case ofobscurance of a microwave source. However, these methods also fail underother circumstances.

As used herein, the phrase Negative Radar refers to the effect whereinthe silhouette of any craft, including a stealth craft, will blocktransmission of a Radar beam, resulting in detectability of theattenuation of the microwave radiation. The Negative Radar approach canbe used with active or passive detection techniques.

In an active detection technique, electromagnetic energy, such as radiofrequency, microwave, visible light, or infrared light (from a laser) isdirected toward a target, and the interaction of the emitted energy withthe target is used to detect the presence of the target, and to derivecharacteristics of the target, such as distance, bearing, speed, size,and profile. According to the present invention, the beam transmissioncharacteristics are used for detection, rather than reflectioncharacteristics.

In an active detection scheme according to the present invention forNegative Radar, an electromagnetic wave is bounced off a largereflector, such as the Earth, and the silhouette (or attenuation of theelectromagnetic wave) produced by the craft, by blocking part of thewave or part of the reflection of the wave, is detected.

In a passive detection embodiment of the invention, no energy isintentionally directed toward the target. Instead, natural orpreexisting (and relatively uncontrolled) sources of electromagneticradiation are employed to look for the silhouette (or attenuation of thebeam) of the craft. Typically, the passive detection techniques willemploy background radiation from the sky (e.g., 3 degree K black bodyradiation), or the infrared energy emitted by the Earth (e.g., 300degree K black body radiation). Another useful source of “passive”energy is man-made satellites, for example GPS satellites and theIridium satellite constellation, which each have almost completecoverage of the globe and well defined radiation characteristics.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for theremote detection of an object within a large space, comprising detectinga normal pattern of illumination of the space with electromagneticradiation, allowing the object to enter the space, and detecting anattenuation from the normal pattern resulting therefrom. In this case,the space is substantially larger than the object, and the aperture ofthe receiver is wide.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a method of operating anegative radar device for detecting objects, e.g., stealth craft ornon-stealth craft, herein called “Stealth Craft”, comprising the stepsof either detecting the absence of microwave radiation, or bothtransmitting microwave radiation and detecting the absence of microwaveradiation, due to the stealth craft attenuating (blocking) the microwaveradiation when it positioned between the source of microwave radiation(or a reflection from the source) and the microwave detector or receiver(or surface that reflects microwave to the detector or receiver).

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method andapparatus for detecting an object, comprising the steps of definingexpected characteristics of a scattered invisible electromagneticradiation pattern to be detected at a receiver, attenuating at least aportion of an invisible electromagnetic radiation field by a presence ofan object within a path of invisible electromagnetic radiation, saidinvisible electromagnetic radiation propagating off axis with respect tothe receiver toward a scattering medium, and detecting the attenuationto indicate a presence of the object. The electromagnetic radiation maybe man made or natural, and therefore sources such as earth(terrestrial) background radiation in the infrared band and cosmicbackground radiation in the microwave bands may advantageously beemployed. The present invention may also use incidental effects fromman-made radiation transmitted for unrelated purposes, or cooperatingtransmitters and receivers. The transmitter and/or receiver may behighly directional (collimated), in order to provide precision inlocalization or higher signal to noise ratio. Antenna apertures may bemechanically scanned, or comprise synthetic aperture systems withlogically defined apertures. Adaptive background analysis techniques maybe performed to differentiate dynamic effects from static effects.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a receiver isprovided displaced (e.g., substantially spaced) from the source of theelectromagnetic radiation, wherein the perturbation in theelectromagnetic radiation is detected as a displaced shadow on a distantscattering medium, such as the earth, or overhead, such as clouds oratmospheric particulates. The present invention also provides a systemand method wherein a transmitter generates the electromagneticradiation, a receiver detects the electromagnetic radiation, thetransmitter and receiver having known positions with respect to theEarth, with a distance to the object being determined based on the knownlocation of the receiver and the transmitter and by the vector from thereceiver to a shadow of the electromagnetic radiation formed by theobject on the Earth. Likewise, at least two electromagnetic radiationwaves may be generated by at least two transmitters and a receiver, eachwith a known position, wherein a distance to the object is determinedbased on the known location of the receiver and both transmitters and bythe vector from the receiver to the shadow from the first transmitter ingeometric relationship with the vector from the receiver to the shadowfrom the second transmitter.

The object may be identified based on a computed distance to the object,the detected attenuation of the electromagnetic radiation, and apredetermined characteristic of the object. A system is also providedwherein a wavelength of a radio wave transmission is varied about arange including the effective size of the object, wherein as the waveexceeds the effective size, the objects apparently disappears. Bymonitoring perturbation (e.g., attenuation) of the silhouette (i.e.,transmitted wave propagation axis and receiver aperture aligned) orshadow (i.e., transmitted wave propagation axis and receiver aperturenot aligned), the effective size of the object may be determined.Typical objects of interest have sized and effective sizes in the rangeof between about 1 to 100 meters, and therefore a transceiver systemadapted to operate in the 1 to 100 meter band may be used for suchdetection.

The invention also provides a negative radar device for detecting anobject, e.g., stealth craft or non-stealth craft, comprising either amicrowave receiver and optionally a microwave transmitter, said detectordetecting the absence or attenuation of microwave radiation due toattenuation of the microwave radiation when the object is within theaperture of the receiver, e.g., generally positioned between thetransmitter or other source of microwave radiation (or a reflection fromthe transmitter or other source) and the microwave receiver (or surfacethat reflects microwave to the detector).

Microwave, as generally used herein, may also encompass anyelectromagnetic radiation capable of attenuation by the object, unlessspecifically limited by the context. The object may be, e.g., any typeof craft, e.g., airplanes, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM),helicopters, satellites, cruise missiles, pilotless drones, balloons,High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) platforms, marine ships, boats,submarines, tanks, trucks, armored personnel carriers, and cars.

The microwave radiation may be, for example, the omnipresent cosmicbackground radiation, the blackbody radiation from the Earth, microwaveradiation reflected from the ground or sky. The system may provide asingle microwave transceiver for emitting and receiving the microwaves,or the transmitter and receiver may be spatially separated.

In order to collimate the microwaves for detection of small areas withinthe detection space, tubes may be used to limit the field of view thatis seen by each detector, thus increasing the percentage attenuationcaused by a Stealth Craft in that pixel of the Sky.

The aperture of a transmitter or/or receiver may be limited, to provideone or more narrow bands of electromagnetic radiation or apertures forreceipt of radiation, in the form of a “picket fence”. These bands maybe static or swept. For example, the receiver may be omni-directional,while the transmitter sweeps the sky with bands of directionalradiation. Alternately, the transmitter may be omni-directional, whilethe receiver may sweep the “sky” with bands of directional “beam”sensitivity, through the use of a moving mechanical antenna or a phasedarray radar system.

The distance to an object, e.g., a stealth craft, may be determined fromthe known location of both receiver and transmitter and by the vectorfrom the receiver to the shadow of the stealth craft on the Earth ingeometric relationship to the vector from the receiver to the silhouetteof the stealth craft against the Earth.

According to another embodiment, there are at least two transmitters andat least one receiver, or there are at least two receivers. For example,two transmitters are provided, and the distance to the stealth craft isdetermined from the known location of the receiver and bothtransmitters, and by the vector from the receiver to the shadow from thefirst transmitter in geometric relationship with the vector from thereceiver to the shadow from the second transmitter.

The transmitter need not be controlled or coupled to the detectionsystem. For example, the transmitter may be a non-cooperating source ofmicrowave radiation, such as a Direct Broadcast TV satellite,geopositioning (e.g., GPS or GLONASS) satellite, or a personalcommunication satellite. Therefore, the system need only provide areceiver and phased array antenna to detect and/or determine thedistance to Stealth Craft.

In analyzing the received signal, an adaptive receiver design may beemployed to cancel the normal illumination pattern. In this case, thebackground normally reflects or scatters the radiation. However, anobscuring object reduces the return signal. When compared with theadapted baseline signal, however, the silhouette and shadow of thestealth craft is seen as a positive indication of change in pattern.

The distance to the object, e.g., stealth craft, may be determined bycomparing the apparent size of the stealth craft to a presumed actualsize of the stealth craft, using geometrical techniques well known inthe art.

These and other objects will be apparent from an understanding of thepreferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and further objects and advantages of the invention will be moreapparent upon reference to the following specification, claims andappended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a set of Electronic “Picket Fences”;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a system for detecting Stealth Craftwith a single transmitter/receiver;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a system for detecting a distance toa Stealth Craft by triangulation;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a system for canceling a wave of knownwavelength;

FIG. 5 shows a Table representing background cancellation and leadingand trailing edge detection;

FIG. 6 shows a Table representing background cancellation and making asilhouette “white”;

FIG. 7 shows a Table representing background cancellation and making ashadow “white”;

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a system for detecting stealth craftwith omni-directional transmitter and separate receiver;

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a system for detection and distancedetermination with two transmitters and a separate receiver usingshadows;

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a system for detection and distancedetermination with one transmitter and a separate receiver using bothsilhouette and shadow;

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of a system for detecting stealth craftusing the Earth's atmosphere to reflect radiation;

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of a system for detecting stealth craftusing cosmic background radiation; and

FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of a system for determining distancewith cosmic background radiation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments will now be described by way of example, inwhich like reference numerals indicate like elements.

Active Detection

In standard active detection, a beam of electromagnetic energy, such asmicrowave, visible light, or infrared light (from a laser) is directedtoward a target and the energy reflected from the target is used todetect the presence of the target, and to derive characteristics of thetarget, such as distance, bearing, speed, and size.

However, according to the present invention, negative radar, a microwavebeam is bounced off a large reflector, such as the Earth, and thesilhouette (or attenuation of the microwave) that the object producesagainst the beam or a reflection of the beam is detected. This methodcan also be used with non-stealth craft, since the Doppler shift ofmicrowaves reflected from a non-stealth craft can be used todifferentiate it from the microwave reflected from, e.g., the Earth, sothat the microwaves reflected directly from the non-stealth craft can beignored or separately analyzed.

The Doppler shift can also be used to detect and defeat a possibleelectronic countermeasure against negative radar. If a stealth craftemanated microwave radiation in an attempt appear transparent to therays, e.g., not to produce a “silhouette” for the negative radar, theDoppler shift could be used to differentiate the microwave emanated fromthe stealth craft from the microwave reflected from, e.g., the Earth.Therefore, a successful countermeasure would not only have to emitradiation in the appropriate pattern, it would also have to be Dopplercompensated. This would require, for example, a complex phased arraytransceiver system which measures electromagnetic radiation on any onesurface and reemits it on an opposite surface, potentially requiringsimultaneous transmission and reception in the same range or frequenciesfrom all surfaces.

The following is an example of Negative Radar and active (as opposed topassive) detection. An aircraft, HALE craft, or satellite is provided atan altitude above that of the craft to be detected. A down-looking beamof electromagnetic energy is swept across the ground. The beam, in thiscase, could be infrared light (via a laser), microwave (with the beamsteered either mechanically or electronically with a phased arrayantenna), or some other electromagnetic radiation, although microwaveradiation is preferred. It is presumed that the ground below scattersthe radiation, and therefore, the illuminated area will be substantiallyvisible to the receiver.

For example, an aircraft is provided having a phased array Radarantenna, to allow for a full sweep of the entire zone of interest. Asshown in FIG. 1, the aircraft 100 a scans the area with a set of narrowspaced beams, creating a series of electronic “picket fences”, 101 a,101 b . . . 101 n. Each “picket fence” is thus a sweep of a plurality ofindividual beams. A particular advantage of this arrangement is that theentire zone is effectively covered over time with only a relativelysmall area of microwave illumination, and each “picket” may beindividually analyzed, for example with different wavelengths and/orparameters.

When a Stealth Craft 102S crosses an individual beam, the strength ofthe beam reflected from the ground is attenuated, because the StealthCraft blocks a portion of the beam coming from the craft to ground, aswell as part of the reflection of the beam from ground back to theaircraft. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to visualize theStealth Craft as a “dark” area against the “white” background ofMicrowave reflected from the ground. This analysis, of course,preferably automated, and may involve high levels of analysis, forexample to reduce noise, check consistency with other sensor systems,and adaptively process the signal. Typically, a background or normalradiation pattern from the ground is determined, and the receivedradiation compared with the background to determine the characteristicsof the reflected components.

As shown in FIG. 2, when a Stealth Craft is detected, we know that theStealth Craft 110 c is in the line-of-site between the source (aircraftRadar) 110 a of beam 110 b and the ground. Since we know where the beamis sweeping at any point in time, we know the Z position of the StealthCraft, but not the Y position (altitude) and thus not the distance tothe Stealth Craft.

One way to find the distance to the Stealth Craft is a method oftriangulation, as shown in FIG. 3. We assume a plurality of detectingcraft creating picket fences via sweeping beams 115 e and 115 f. If asecond detecting craft detects the Stealth Craft at time T, we know notonly the 115 a-115 b path from the first detecting craft to the targetcraft, but the path 115 c-115 b from the second detecting craft to theStealth Craft.

Since we know the absolute position of the two detecting craft, e.g., bythe use of GPS, and we know the angle of the Stealth Craft relative tothe two detecting craft, and we know the Z position of the StealthCraft, we can form a triangle, and calculate, using basic geometry, theX, Y, Z position of the Stealth Craft, and thus the distance from eachRadar to the Stealth Craft. The accuracy of the distance determinationdepends upon, for example, the width of the individual beams.

If only one Radar is used, the traditional way to determine the distanceto a non-stealth Craft is to measure the time that it takes to receivethe Microwave echo from the craft. Since the speed of Microwave in theair is known, about 300,000 KM/second, the distance to the craft may bedetermined. With a Stealth Craft, the echo from the craft is presumedunusable, so the distance to the Stealth Craft must be determined byother means.

One way to determine the distance is to compare the apparent size of theStealth Craft to the actual size of the Stealth Craft, using geometricaltechniques well known in the art and presumptions of the nature of theStealth Craft. The apparent size is the size of the silhouette. Theactual size can thus be determined by reading a computer reference filefor the aircraft dimensions of the particular Stealth Craft suspected ofdetection. Ambiguities may be resolved by other data, such as maximumvelocity, and radar signature characteristics. It is noted thattraditional Radar is ineffective in detecting the presence of a StealthCraft because of the large number of possible interfering signal sourcesand noise. On the other hand, where a specific position of a craft issuspected, numerous techniques may be employed to verify the existenceof the craft.

Another way to find the actual size of the Stealth Craft is byincreasing the wavelength of the Microwave until the silhouettedisappears, i.e., until the size of the craft (cross-section) becomes afraction of the wavelength, so that the Stealth Craft does noteffectively attenuate the Microwave signal and thus becomes “invisible”to the Microwave.

The azimuth resolution, i.e., the minimum size of a feature you candetect, is dependent on the size of the antenna, the distance from theRadar to the object, and the wavelength, and is given by:Resolution=(Wavelength*Range)/antenna lengthWavelength=(Resolution*Antenna length)/range

Thus, for a given antenna size, range and desired resolution, thewavelength needed to effect the needed resolution is defined, e.g.,

$\begin{matrix}{{Wavelength} = {{\left( {1m*20m} \right)/10}\text{,}000m}} \\{{Wavelength} = {{.002}\; m}} \\{= {2{mm}}}\end{matrix}$

The aforementioned distance measurement techniques would also work fornon-stealth craft, since the Doppler shift of microwaves reflected fromthe non-stealth craft could be used to differentiate it from microwavereflected from the ground, so that the microwaves reflected from thecraft could be ignored. Thus, by providing a filter to detect microwavesshifted by an amount representing a minimum presumed velocity of anaircraft, background clutter may be effectively eliminated.

Active downlooking Radar will show clutter, i.e., reflection from theground. The varying characteristics of the surface of the ground anditems on the surface will result in a varying amount of reflectedmicrowave signal from the ground.

This ground clutter can be eliminated by the use of cancellation, atechnique well known in the art. FIG. 4 shows a simplified block diagramof the method. The received signal 120 a from the antenna is split(bifurcated) with half going through a delay 120 b, and then recombined.This delay is equal to, for example, a half-wavelength phase delay.Thus, if the reflected microwave signal is stationary, i.e., at time tis exactly the same in terms of amplitude and phase as the signal attime t−1 delay, then the signal is cancelled, because the two componentsare 180 degrees out of phase, and there is no substantial output 120 c.The delay can also be any odd multiple of pi/2 phase delay. It isunderstood that this cancellation technique may be provided in knownmanner by advanced analog or digital electronic systems, and thereforeneed not be provided as a simple delay line summer.

As shown in FIG. 5, as the Stealth Craft transverses the detection zone,the clutter cancellation will make the ground “dark”, i.e., allmicrowaves from the ground will be cancelled. The Stealth Craft will,itself, reflect no microwave, so that it will also be “dark”.

However, the delay is selected such that as the Stealth Crafttransverses the detection zone, the edge of the Stealth Craft will beshown as a “white” edge, i.e., all microwave energy reflected will becancelled, except that at the edge of the craft. As shown in FIG. 5 themicrowave at the leading edge of the craft will not be cancelled becausethe current signal reflected from the ground is blocked but the previous(delayed) reflected signal from the ground was not blocked by the craftso it is not cancelled by the current signal.

Thus, the leading and trailing edges of the craft will be the only areaswhere the microwave will not be either blocked or cancelled. While thistechnique is subject to noise limitations, the precision may be improvedby correlating leading and trailing edge detections, which should bespaced in time according to the size and speed of the craft. Thetransverse distance the Stealth Craft moves during each pulse determinesthe “width” of the leading edge of the Stealth Craft. At a speed of 1KM/sec., the Craft would move 1/300 KM during a 1/300-second pulseinterval, thus the leading edge would be about 3.3 meter.

When a Stealth Craft is detected, another option is to freeze thebackground cancellation, i.e., to cancel with the same (pre-stealthcraft detection) background as long as the Stealth Craft is beingdetected, such as with a analog amplitude adjusted phase lock loop ordigital background cancellation. This results in the craft (actually thesilhouette of the craft) being entirely “white” (microwave source) asshown in the FIG. 6. The result is similar to the correlation of leadingand trailing edges, since noise considerations will make higher levelprocessing for consistency and conformance with reasonable windowsdesirable.

In addition to detecting the silhouette of a Stealth Craft against amicrowave source, another method of detecting a Stealth Craft is todetect the shadow the Stealth Craft makes on a reflecting surface, suchas the Earth.

As in detecting a silhouette, the attenuation of the Microwave by theStealth Craft is to be detected. Thus results in a “dark” area on a“white” (reflecting) surface.

As with detection of a silhouette, background cancellation may be usedto cancel the background and make the shadow “white”, so that a “white”patch on a “dark” background is sought. In this case, a moving averagecancellation technique may be employed, for example with a time constantof about 15 seconds. In this case, as a Stealth Craft enters theaperture, the change against the background will be apparent, yetchanges in the background over a slower time-course will be compensated.Alternately, an adaptive cancellation system may be implemented, whichmay, for example, halt adaptation during the period of detection of anevent, to provide maximum “contrast” of the event. Other, more complexfiltering algorithms may also be employed. In any case, as a StealthCraft is being detected, then the shadow of the stealth craft becomes“white” (microwave source) and the non-shadow background becomes “dark”(no microwave) as shown in FIG. 7.

As discussed above, the negative Radar technique works for non-stealthcraft, as well as for stealth craft. This is important because it maynot be determined, a priori, if a craft being detected is a stealthcraft or non-stealth craft, and thus a single detection system,compatible with both types of craft, may be desired.

An electronic picket fence can be established such that the crafttransmitting the microwave is a satellite, high-flying aircraft, or HighAltitude Long Endurance (HALE) craft and the receiver is on a secondcraft that is passively receiving the microwaves, without itselftransmitting any microwave signal. The transmitter could be, forexample, a phased array Radar sweeping a beam, creating a series ofelectronic picket fences.

As shown in FIG. 8, in constructing electronic picket fences, thetransmitter 130 a can be omni-directional, i.e., the transmitter couldtransmit in all directions, with the receiver 130 b being a phased arrayantenna creating sweeping “beams”, one beam 130 e of which could detectStealth Craft 130 c. For example, one transmitter on a satellite,aircraft, or High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) craft could be used bya plurality of receivers to construct a plurality of picket fences.

Thus, the detecting craft can itself be a Stealth Craft, and the systemoperational without transmitting any microwaves that could be used todetect it, or used by, e.g., a radar-seeking missile (such as HARM), todestroy it.

A satellite used to illuminate the object need not be a cooperatingsatellite. There are many commercial, government, and militarysatellites in orbit. For example, a direct broadcast TV satellite or ageopositioning (e.g., GPS or GLONASS) satellite could be used, withoutthe cooperation of the satellite owner, as long as the microwave carrierwavelength and ground coverage are appropriate. Stability andpredictability of the carrier may also be important. As of 1998, therewere 220 communication satellites in orbit. Between 1998 and 2003, thisis expected to grow to over 1000 satellites, with the orbiting of newfleets of satellites for satellite based cellular telephone service,which are often referred to as personal communication satellites. Someof these satellites will be in low-Earth orbit or mid-Earth orbit, andothers will be in geosynchronous orbit.

If two detecting craft detect the Stealth Craft, the distance to theStealth Craft could be determined by the previously mentioned method oftriangulation.

If there is one detecting craft but two or more transmitting sources, asshown in FIG. 9, a different method of triangulation can be used todetermine the distance from the detecting craft to the Stealth Craft.The shadow of the Stealth Craft 140 s on the ground may be detected,i.e., the area 140 e on the ground in which the Microwave beam 140 mfrom the transmitting Craft 140 a was partially or fully attenuated orblocked by the Stealth Craft 140S at time T is detected. The area 140 fon the ground in which the Microwave beam 140 n from the transmittingCraft 140 b is partially or fully attenuated or blocked by the sameStealth Craft 140S at the same time T is detected.

The transmitted beams 140 m and 140 n reflect off the ground, and by useof a phased array receiver, having narrow beam input sensitivity, i.e.,directional receiving, with two simultaneous “beams” 140 t and 140 u,the shadow of the Stealth Craft for beam 140 m and the shadow for beam140 n may be detected.

Since the location of transmitters 140 a, and 140 b, and shadows 140 eand 140 f, and receiver “beams” 140 t and 140 u and the receiver 140 rare known for the time of receipt, simple geometric techniques, wellknown in the art, can be used to determine the distance 140 d fromreceiver 140 r to Stealth Craft 140 s.

If there is only one transmitter and one receiver, and they arespatially separated, yet another method of triangulation can be used todetermine the distance to the Stealth Craft. As shown in FIG. 10, for anomni-directional Microwave transmitter 150 m, and a receiver 150 r, theshadow 150 e of the Stealth Craft 150 s on the ground, as well as thesilhouette 150 i of the Stealth Craft 150 s against the reflectedMicrowave at point 150 n is detected. Since the various locations of 150m, 150 r, 150 e and 150 n are known for the time of detection, geometricmethods, well known in the art, can be used to find the distance fromthe receiver 150 r to the Stealth Craft 150 s.

If either standard triangulation or the triangulation methods shown inFIG. 9 or 10 are used in conjunction with non-cooperating satellites,such as geosynchronous Direct Broadcast TV satellites, then controlledactive emission sources, e.g., radar transceivers, would not be requiredto detect and determine the distance to Stealth Craft. All that would berequired with these types of sources are a receiver, a phased arrayantenna, and an appropriate processor. The phased array antenna iscontrolled to have sensitivity to microwaves in a “band”, and possiblymultiple simultaneous bands. The frequencies and transmittingcharacteristics of many satellites are known and published, so shadowsand silhouettes at the same frequency of the satellite may be detectedand distinguished. In the case of commercial transmissions, techniquesmay be necessary to distinguish multiple sources of radiation in thesame band. For example, typically, the emission from such satelliteswill be coherent and modulated. Upon reflection, the radiation will bescattered, because the Earth is an imperfect reflector. However, somecoherency as well as the modulation pattern, may be retained. Therefore,a selective filter for the presumed reflected wave may be implemented,filtering out other sources of potentially interfering electromagneticinformation. In this case, it is presumed that the Craft to be detectedwill interfere with the pass filtered wave portion, however, thispresumption appears warranted based on the physics of shadow andsilhouette formation by a Stealth Craft. Thus, the frequency channel,modulation pattern, and propagation vectors of the satellitetransmission may all be used to distinguish from other sources ofelectromagnetic radiation.

It should be understood that the craft holding the receiver antenna inthis case has access to receive a clean representation of the satellitetransmission from above, thereby allowing homodyne-type detection and/orthe use of phase locked loops.

In an active detection system, there is a transmitted beam and adetected reflected beam. As shown in FIG. 11, instead of a craftdirecting a beam to reflect off the Earth, the beams 160 a, 160 b, 160n, could be directed from the Earth or from a craft via a sweeping oromni-directional transmitter 160 t toward the sky, with the microwavesreflected from the sky, to the receiver 160 r. The amount of reflectionand nature of the reflection depends on the nature of the beams, and thevagaries of atmospheric reflection, such as particulates, ice crystals,and the like. In addition, the atmosphere can absorb energy andre-radiate it.

Passive Detection

In a passive detection system, no energy is intentionally directed tothe target. Instead, the silhouette (or attenuation of the microwave) ofthe Stealth Craft against an existing energy background, such as thecosmic background radiation in the sky, or the infrared energy emittedby the Earth, is detected.

The cosmic background radiation is an omnipresent microwave source, andis the same in any direction up to 1 part in 100,000. The cosmicbackground radiation is equivalent to the radiation emitted by a blackbody at 2.7 degrees Kevin (−270 Centigrade).

The Earth can also be considered a black body, or a gray body, at thetemperature of the Earth's surface. The radiation emitted by a gray bodydepends on its temperature, its emissivity (determined primarily by itsroughness) and its reflectivity.

This background energy is much weaker than that used in typical Radarsystems. While an x-band Radar has a typical power (brightness) of 4800watts/meter squared/Hz/steradian, a typical Earth brightness might be5.4*10⁻²⁴, in the same microwave frequency range.

Therefore, specialized receivers called Radiometers are used to measurethe brightness of background radiation from thermal sources. A bolometer(or superconducting bolometer) may also be used to detect Earthbackground radiation.

The background radiation is examined to look for either the silhouetteof the Stealth Craft or the attenuation of the background that is causedby the Stealth Craft. The Stealth Craft itself can be considered a graybody, but since it is coated with Microwave absorbing material, itshould not reflect much microwave nor should it emit much microwaveenergy. Thus, passive detection of a Stealth Craft against the cosmicbackground radiation may be more effective for Stealth Craft thannon-Stealth Craft.

In addition to detecting Stealth craft, another advantage of passiveNegative Radar over conventional Radar is that the detector can be adevice that transmits or emanates no microwave radiation. This makes itmuch harder for the enemy to find and destroy, with e.g., the use of amicrowave seeking missile.

If the weak cosmic background radiation is used, a very sensitivereceiver, cooled to close to absolute zero (−273 degrees Centigrade)could be used, which is sensitive to this wavelength of radiation. TheCosmic Background Explorer satellite used differential microwaveradiometers to look for anisotropy of 1 part in 100,000 in the cosmicmicrowave background radiation. The NASA Microwave Anisotropy Probesatellite, to be launched in 2000, will also be able to detectanisotropy of 1 part in 100,000. Therefore, systems that analyze spatialvariations in this radiation are well known.

The apparatus according to the present invention will look, at any giventime, at a small enough piece of the sky so that a Stealth Craft willcause an attenuation of at least 1/100,000 in the strength of the cosmicbackground radiation. This will be achieved by insuring that the area(pixel) of the sky being observed at any instance is no more than100,000 times the size of the Stealth Craft to be detected.

For example, the F117a stealth fighter, with a length 60 feet and heightof 12 feet, has a cross section of 720 square feet. Thus, (72,000,000square feet of sky (720*100,000) (about three square miles) around thecraft (at the distance of the craft) could be observed at any giveninstance, and the craft would obscure 1/100,000 of the cosmic backgroundradiation. The detection system would therefore compare the strength ofmicrowaves at the time of detection (time X) to a previous time (timeX−1) for that pixel.

As shown in FIG. 12, the attenuation of the microwave signal thatresults from the passage of a Stealth craft 170 s in the field of view170 v of a receiver or radiometer 170 n is measured.

There are various ways to insure that the area of the sky being observedis no more than 100,000 times the size of a Stealth Craft. For example,if thousands of receivers are used, each can observe a small pixel ofthe sky. Alternately, one receiver (radiometer) could be rapidly swept,sequentially sensitive to different small regions (pixels) of the sky.

A cosmic background radiation-based system must be directed away fromEarth, and is typically limited to coverage of a radius of 50-100 miles,with a height window of 0.5-20 miles. With a 0.5 square mile pixel areaat maximum range, (2×100×pi×20/0.5) 24,000 pixels would be required.This may be provided, for example, as a rotationally moving scanner witha 64×64 array of detector elements, or as multiple stationary arrayseach looking in a somewhat different direction.

As shown in FIG. 12, if a plurality of receivers or radiometers 170 a,170 b, 170 n are used, the assembly of receivers could have a honeycombappearance. To limit the aperture of each receiver to the microwaveradiation from a small patch (pixel) of the sky, a tube 170 t (e.g.,rectangular, hexagonal, etc.) is placed above each receiver. The insidediameter of the tube and length (assuming the inside of the tube doesnot reflect Microwave) of the tube determines the field of view (pixelof the sky) that is seen by each receiver element. The rectangular tubecan be coated on the inside with known materials so that the inside ofthe tube will not reflect Microwave.

To allow for the use of a less sensitive receiver, a plurality of tubescan be pointed to one field of view. The microwave signal from all ofthe tubes could then be combined to form a stronger signal that could bedetected by a less sensitive (and perhaps less costly) receiver.

Because of the weakness of cosmic background radiation, and attenuationof the microwaves by Earth's atmosphere, in particular the water vaporin the atmosphere, the use of cosmic background microwave will be mosteffective when the receiver (radiometer) is in a high flying aircraft,HALE craft, or satellite, and the craft being searched for is a highflying stealth aircraft, stealth HALE craft, or stealth satellite.

Another background radiation source that can be used is the Earthitself. As mentioned above, the Earth can also be considered a blackbody, or a gray body, at the temperature of the Earth's surface or about300 degrees K. For example, an infrared receiver on a detecting craftcan look at small areas (pixels) of the ground at sequential times, fordetecting the attenuation of the infrared radiation produced by aStealth Craft obscuring part of the radiation from the ground pixel.Since the wavelength corresponding to 300 degrees K is in the infraredrange, the normal microwave stealth techniques do not obscure in thiswavelength. The skin temperature of the stealth craft is not likely toclosely correspond to the ground temperature of the earth below. Thus,the craft will produce a contrast.

Determination of Distance to Target

As shown in FIG. 13, the well-known method of triangulation or parallaxcan be used to determine the distance. This method requires twodetectors. The Stealth Craft 180 s is detected by receiver 180 r and byreceiver 180 q. Since the location of receivers 180 r and 180 q areknown at the time of detection, geometric methods, well known in theart, can be used to calculate the location of Stealth Craft S and thedistance to same.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embracedtherein.

The term “comprising”, as used herein, shall be interpreted asincluding, but not limited to inclusion of other elements notinconsistent with the structures and/or functions of the other elementsrecited.

1. A method for detecting an object, comprising the steps of: definingexpected characteristics of a scattered invisible electromagneticradiation pattern to be detected at a receiver; attenuating at least aportion of an invisible electromagnetic radiation field by a presence ofan object within a path of invisible electromagnetic radiation, saidinvisible electromagnetic radiation propagating off axis with respect tothe receiver toward a scattering medium; and detecting the attenuationto indicate a presence of the object.
 2. The method according to claim1, wherein the object comprises a low radar profile craft.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising the step of emitting a beam ofelectromagnetic radiation and reflectively scattering theelectromagnetic radiation.
 4. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe electromagnetic radiation is selected from the group consisting ofcosmic background radiation, terrestrial thermal emissions, earthsatellite microwave emissions, and high altitude long endurance craftemissions.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein theelectromagnetic radiation is man-made terrestrial origin radiationselected from the group consisting of radio frequency, microwave, andinfrared radiation.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein acollimated electromagnetic radiation detector is employed for detectingthe attenuation.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a receiverdetects the attenuation of the electromagnetic radiation, furthercomprising the step of producing electromagnetic radiation with anelectromagnetic radiation source, the source being substantially spacedfrom the receiver.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein atransmitter transmits the electromagnetic radiation in narrow sweptbands.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein a transmittertransmits the electromagnetic radiation omni-directionally and areceiver detects attenuation of the electromagnetic radiation, thereceiver having an aperture sensitive to electromagnetic radiation in anarrow swept band.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein atransmitter generates the electromagnetic radiation, a receiver detectsthe electromagnetic radiation, said transmitter and receiver havingknown positions with respect to the Earth, a distance to the objectbeing determined based on the known location of the receiver and thetransmitter and by the vector from the receiver to a shadow of theelectromagnetic radiation formed by the object on the Earth.
 11. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein at least two electromagneticradiation waves are generated by at least two transmitters, and aposition of the at least two transmitters and a receiver for detectingthe electromagnetic radiation waves with respect to the Earth are known,a distance to the object being determined based on the known location ofthe receiver and both transmitters and by the vector from the receiverto the shadow from the first transmitter in geometric relationship withthe vector from the receiver to the shadow from the second transmitter.12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electromagneticradiation is generated by a non-cooperating source, wherein theelectromagnetic radiation is detected by a receiver having a phasedarray antenna.
 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein an adaptivebackground analysis is performed to differentiate dynamic effects fromstatic effects.
 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein anidentification of the object is made based on a computed distance to theobject, the detected attenuation of the electromagnetic radiation, and apredetermined characteristic of the object.
 15. An apparatus forperforming the method of claim 1, comprising: means for storing expectedcharacteristics of scattered electromagnetic radiation to be received ata receiver; and a receiver for detecting the attenuation to indicate apresence of the object.
 16. A method for detecting an object, comprisingthe steps of: defining expected characteristics of diffuse sourceelectromagnetic background radiation to be received at a receiver;attenuating at least a portion of diffuse source electromagneticbackground radiation received at the receiver by a presence of anobject; and detecting the attenuation to indicate a presence of theobject.
 17. An apparatus for performing the method of claim 16,comprising an imaging receiver responsive to earth black body radiation.18. An apparatus for performing the method of claim 16, comprising animaging receiver responsive to cosmic black body radiation.
 19. A methodfor detecting a characteristic of an object, comprising the steps of:defining expected characteristics of electromagnetic radiation to bereceived at a receiver; attenuating at least a portion ofelectromagnetic radiation received at the receiver by a presence of anobject; varying a wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation; anddetecting the relative attenuation at a plurality of electromagneticradiation wavelengths to indicate a characteristic of the object. 20.The method according to claim 19, wherein the plurality of wavelengthsinclude wavelengths larger and smaller than an effective size of theobject, and wherein the characteristic is the effective size of theobject.
 21. An apparatus for performing the method according to claim19, said apparatus comprising a radio transceiver adapted for operatingin the 1-100 meter band.